Originally Posted by
RJSAviator76
Just curious... would you fire all the Lynx pilots or would you integrate them into your master seniority list?
All Lynx pilots will be integrated, just as all Frontier, Midwest, and Mokulele pilots will be.
If (and I stress the if) Bedford decides to get rid of the Q400 fleet, then Lynx pilots may end up on a temporary furlough until the integration is complete. Again, that is only if Q400's go away before the integration is complete. That is the same thing that is currently happening with Midwest pilots. Lynx and Midwest pilots cannot fly a RAH aircraft (other than the one they were flying at the time of acquisition) until they are on the RAH master seniority list.
As for the other questions, I think Bedford is leaning towards not keeping the dash 8 fleet. I would expect him to have announced a delay in deliveries if he intended to keep the fleet growing, not a cancellation of options/deliveries.
I think the Lynx Dash 8's serve a very useful purpose, and help distinguish the route network of Lynx/Frontier from all the other carriers, including Southwest. Bedford would undermine the appeal of Frontier if he got rid of the Q400. I hope that, at a minimum, Lynx keeps all its current aircraft and continues to fly into a number of smaller, prop friendly markets throughout the Rockies and western plains.
Small fleets don't make sense, though. Operating a fleet of only 12 aircraft with no parts commonality with the rest of the RAH fleet is very costly. I think Bedford would be wise to expand the Q400 fleet, but that requires capital, which he spent a lot of in the acquisition process. RAH may not be able to continue to Dash operations along with expanding the E190 fleet, and possibly the Airbus fleet. If Lynx is shut down or sold off, I do think it will be one of the great business blunders of our industry in modern times. One thing RAH has going for it right now is a comprehensive fleet of domestic aircraft, with no outsourcing (ironic, yes). We all long for the days of all flying done in house on one seniority list, and right now RAH has the chance to do that. To squander that advantage would be foolish, but then again, no one ever claimed that CEO's really know what they're doing.
I hope to see you Lynx guys on the list here soon, with the option to keep flying the Dash if you so choose.